Sewer line inspection cost
A sewer camera inspection costs $150 to $600, typically $300. It is the best $300 anyone spends before buying an older house, and standard home inspections do not include it.
National average
$300
per each
On this page
- What it costs
- When it is worth doing
- What the camera should show you
- Reading the recommendation carefully
- Frequently asked questions
- Is it included in a home inspection?
- Can they inspect without a cleanout?
- What are roots doing in a sealed pipe?
- How often should it be done?
- The city says the lateral is my responsibility. Is that right?
A sewer camera inspection costs $150 to $600, typically around $300. It is the cheapest way to find out whether the pipe between your house and the street is about to cost you $10,000, and it is the single best $300 anyone spends before buying an older house.
Standard home inspections do not include it. That is worth knowing before you waive one.
What it costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Camera inspection, existing cleanout | $150 to $400 |
| Camera inspection, no cleanout available | $300 to $600 |
| Inspection with locating and depth marking | $300 to $700 |
| Adding an exterior cleanout | $600 to $2,500 |
| Hydro jetting before inspection, if blocked | $350 to $900 |
| Recorded video and written report | usually included, ask |
| Municipal sewer lateral inspection, where required | $200 to $800 |
Many drain cleaning companies waive or credit the camera fee if you have them clear the line, which is a reasonable offer and also a reason to be careful about who is diagnosing what.
When it is worth doing
Before buying a house over about 40 years old. The cost of a sewer line replacement runs $3,000 to $25,000, it is almost never covered by insurance, and the seller's disclosure will not mention what nobody looked at.
Before buying any house with mature trees near the line between the house and the street.
After the second blockage in a year. One blockage is a blockage; two is a defect.
When more than one fixture backs up at once. That is the main line, not a trap.
Before a bathroom renovation that will make the drain harder to reach.
Where the house has clay or Orangeburg pipe. Clay was standard until the 1970s and cracks at the joints. Orangeburg is bituminous fibre, was used from the 1940s to the 1970s, and deforms into an oval before it collapses. If the inspection finds Orangeburg, budget for replacement.
What the camera should show you
A real inspection produces a recorded video you keep, not a look at a monitor while the technician narrates.
You want to see:
- The pipe material, and where it changes
- Every joint, and whether roots are entering at them
- Any sagging section holding water, called a belly
- Cracks, offsets and separated joints
- The connection at the municipal main, if it is reachable
- A marked location and depth on the surface for anything that needs work
Ask for the video file. If a company will not give you one, get another company. The video is what a second opinion is based on, and the same footage shown by a replacement contractor and by an independent inspector produces two different recommendations more often than it should.
Reading the recommendation carefully
This is a service sold by companies that also sell the repair, and the incentive is obvious. Some things are unambiguous on video and some are judgement.
Unambiguous: a collapsed section, a fully separated joint, Orangeburg that has gone oval, a root mass filling the pipe.
Judgement: a small belly, hairline cracks in clay, roots at one joint. These are maintenance for years before they become failures, and they are the ones most often presented as urgent.
If the recommendation is a five-figure replacement, pay another company $300 to look at the same pipe without knowing what the first one said.
Frequently asked questions
Is it included in a home inspection?
No, almost never. It is a separate specialist visit and it is the most consequential thing a standard inspection leaves out.
Can they inspect without a cleanout?
Usually, by pulling a toilet or going through a vent, which costs more and risks damage. If the house has no exterior cleanout, adding one is worth doing anyway: it is what every future drain visit will use.
What are roots doing in a sealed pipe?
The pipe is not sealed. Clay pipe has joints every few feet, and roots follow the moisture and the warmth to them, then widen the gap. A root cutting clears them for one to three years; it does not fix the joint.
How often should it be done?
There is no interval for a healthy line. Do it on the triggers above rather than on a schedule. If you know you have roots, every two to three years is reasonable.
The city says the lateral is my responsibility. Is that right?
In most jurisdictions the homeowner owns the lateral from the house to the main, including the section under the street, which is the expensive part. Some cities own it from the property line. Check yours before assuming, and check whether your utility offers lateral insurance, which is often $5 to $15 a month and is one of the few such products that is straightforwardly worth it.
Read next
Sewer line replacement cost$4,000 to $25,000per projectReplacing a sewer line costs $4,000 to $25,000, most often $6,000 to $15,000. The lateral is your responsibility to the main under the street in most jurisdictions.
Drain cleaning cost$100 to $800per eachClearing a blocked drain costs $100 to $800, averaging around $240. A single slow fixture is at the bottom of that; a main line backing up into several fixtures is at the top.
Water main replacement cost$1,500 to $6,000per projectReplacing the water main into a house costs $1,500 to $6,000, typically $3,000. Under a lawn it is the bottom of that range. Under a driveway and a sidewalk it is the top.
Emergency plumber cost$150 to $300per hourAn emergency plumber costs $150 to $300 an hour against $75 to $150 in business hours, plus $150 to $350 to arrive. The emergencies that cannot wait are the ones where water is moving and you cannot stop it.
How long does plumbing last$4,500 to $12,000per projectCopper lasts 50 to 70 years, PEX 40 to 50, cast iron drain 50 to 100. Plumbing is the system that fails quietly for years and then all at once, and the material in your walls says roughly where you are.